Gorgeous ~ Kyra Cooney-Cross

Everything Has Changed

The next week flew by for Evelyn, she had told her manager that she wanted to accept the offer for Arsenal so her days were filled with packing and emails, lots of emails. From the looks of it Arsenal already has 2 keepers, Manu Zinerber and Sabrina D'Angelo. Evelyn was the type of person to study everything so when her days calmed down from the hecticness of packing she would be watching Arsenal film trying to prepare what these next two years would instore. She watches almost every game from the past season, analyzing everything but especially the keepers. D'Anaglo didn't appear as much but she was fairly solid. Manu however she could see why Arsenal contacted her. Manu stood there, knees locked in place. The outfield plays also seemed strong, but with all of the ACL injuries that happened the previous season Evelyn was still wondering how this season would play out.

The day finally came where it was time for the young goalkeeper to board her flight to London. Trin and Ash joined her until they couldn't go any further. The girls give eachother one last hug before they head their own separate ways. Evelyn was glad she was starting a new journey but she was going to miss her bestfriends and the nights that they shared together.

The journey itself wasn't good. Evelyn has never been a good flier, always being scared of turbulence. When her mom was still alive they would often take family trips to various places all over the country. But Evelyn had never been on an international flight so it was a new experience. When she landed at the airport in London she felt her hands stop gripping her seat, leaving finger nail marks from landing.

"Excuse me miss"

Evelyn looks up from her phone after she has collected her few suitcases containing her life, filled with clothes, books, little mementos from all her years in Washington. She sees a guy in a black tracksuit with an Arsenal symbol on the top.

"I'm William, here to take you to the Training Center"

"Thank you, but what about my bags?"

"After you finish signing your contract Jonas will give you the keys for your apartment."

The drive to the training center was peaceful, her ears helped her airpods that were playing Taylor Swift who always soothed Evelyn when she was anxious. They pass beautiful old buildings. Evelyn was amazed at what London was like, not nearly as much commotion compared to the United States. The Arsenal Training Ground was huge, which somewhat intimidated Evelyn, she was only 21 years old knowing nothing other than Washington and now she is at one of the biggest and supported clubs in the world. She leaves all her belongings in the car as she heads inside to finalize what would be her new life.

She greets Jonas cheerfully and the swede greets her back. She does all of the usual signing stuff taking pictures, signing and choosing her number. She gets her usual number of 18. It was her number since her mom passed away and she always wore it with pride.

"Now Evelyn, the situation with housing has caused a problem, the apartment we had for you had lots of water damage so you are going to have to live with someone for the first few weeks or months of your stay. I know it's not ideal but it will also help you get acquainted with other players."

Evelyn had no reaction to this, she was used to living with roommates but she didn't know anyone here at Arsenal as she was the only American.

At that moment in walked Beth Mead. Evelyn had to admit she was a little star struck.

"Hi Evelyn, I'm Beth" she grins happily as well as reaching out to give a hug.

She takes the hug and greets her back. It's nice to meet you"

She follows Beth out of the office and starts to get more comfortable as Beth gives her a small tour walking back out to the car. They walk through the corridors containing the small cafeteria, the medical wing, the rows of offices lined with computers. They reach the locker room, she takes a deep breath preparing for whoever she is about to meet.

Stepping foot into the locker room was like a new wave, it was much nicer than what the spirit had, the walls colored with red and white. Each cubby had an array of jerseys and boots.

"Beffy!" She hears from across the locker room, an Australian accent takes over her words.

She looks over and sees Steph Catley making her way over to the two blondes. Evelyn introduces herself to the Australian.

"It's so nice to meet you, i've heard great things"

"If you need anything please let me know" the defender smiles before leaving Evelynn and Beth alone in the locker room.

"Like Steph said" Beth said to the young girl, "Please don't hesitate to ask for help, it's a big move and we all want you to feel welcome"

Evelyn thanks her before the two of them begin their journey to their new shared home.

~

Beth's house was lovely, the spell of pumpkin filled the air from the candles that sat in the living room, shelves of vinyls covered the walls. Further examination she realized they were Taylor Swift. She assumed that they were Viv's, considering the couple lived together. Evelyn took a few moments after walking in to fully take in her new environment. She follows Beth around her shoes stepping along the wood floors. Pictures lined the hallways of the couple, their families and friends. She sees many of the team on various holidays and concerts. It was a much different vibe then what Spirit was, this team wasn't a team but rather a family. They get further down the hall when Beth shows Evelyn her bedroom, a full sized bed in the corner decked out with a sage green comforter and pillows. A small dresser parallel to the bed with a mirror right above it.

"I know it's not much, but I tried to make some room in here"

"It's perfect, thank you Beth. Hopefully i'll be out of your hair as soon as my apartment is ready"

"Nonsense, your on this team now you don't need to rush out of here"

With that Beth leaves her to her own space. She finally opens her many suitcases as she starts to unpack the contents of the bag.